I read the book last summer and like millions of others, was deeply touched by the Burpo family’s story. When their son Colton was three years old, he had emergency surgery for appendicitis. Months after the surgery, he started talking about a visit to heaven. His dad, a bi-vocational pastor in a small Nebraska town, was skeptical at first, but everything Colton shared matched up with scripture.
The evening before the prayer breakfast, I bought a ticket to attend a book signing and concert, which was designed to help pay for the event. Although I stood in line for 45 minutes, Burpo ran out of time to sign all the books. For a little bit, I let my mind wander to what it would be like to be that popular as an author.

A sheriff’s deputy stood on guard because there have been threats against his life. Heaven Is For Real has been on the best-seller list for more than a year. It has sold 7 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. Burpo talked about the experience, saying he changed his prayers from “give me” to “use me.” It is amazing to think how many people have been touched by this family’s story. And how much difficulty they went through to reach this point. As a writer, I am reminded that the most powerful thing a person has to share is their own story and how many people can be reached when we do this simple thing.

The book has been criticized and some of it may be valid. However, I have no doubt that heaven is for real and sometimes God gives us glimpses into it, perhaps to inspire us and perhaps to build the faith of others.

As a children’s Sunday school teacher, I found the faith of a three-year-old convicting. The message that Colton brought back was that Jesus really loves the children. How can I do any less?

Have you read the book? What did you think about it?

~ Susan Mires

The kitchen of my 1920s cottage-style house was remodeled several years ago, long before I got the house, and a desk was built in the kitchen. I’ve settled into it as my writing nook. I can sit here and look out the front door or out the back window at the roses that are blooming.

I used to tell myself I needed to get to writing first and could take care of the dishes later. The clutter just behind me, though, proved to be distracting. (Funny how it doesn’t bother any other time.) So I usually do dishes and fix a cup of coffee before I settle in to write.

In The Messenger, Siri Mitchell explores the Revolutionary War and brings to life an exciting element of history.

As a Quaker, Hannah Sunderland feels caught between sides. Her father insists the family remain completely neutral, even as British soldiers occupy the city and take over the family’s home. Hannah’s twin brother Robert signs up with the rebels and is taken prisoner. Though her father forbids visiting him, Hannah wants to do something to ease the starvation and deprivation the prisoner are facing.

She encounters Jeremiah Jones, the local tavern owner. Jeremiah lost an arm while serving as in the British Army. Revenge compels him to send covert messages on what he overhears from soldiers visiting his tavern. When he needs to sneak a message into the prison, he develops a plan to secure a pass for Hannah if she delivers the message.

The characters are very well-developed. Hannah was especially intriguing as she tried to come to terms with her faith, her father’s instructions, Jeremiah’s pressure and the questions in her heart. Jeremiah was an unlikely but engaging hero. His injury, and his frustration with it, figured prominently in the story. I was surprised, however, that the story did not move more quickly. For a spy novel, more suspense and danger would have been expected.

Mitchell brings extensive research and a well-written story together to create a compelling read.

Click here to purchase The Messenger

I received this book as part of Bethany House’s review program.

I picked up the first book For Time and Eternity when it was offered free on Kindle. It tells the story of Camilla Deardon Fox, living in Iowa when the Mormon wagon trains moved through on their way to Utah. Used to living under the strict hand of her father, Camilla becomes fascinated with the friendly people who have camped at the edge of their property. Her heart is quickly stolen by Nathan Fox, a young man who has become a devout convert to Mormonism. When the choice comes to choose between her father and Nathan, young Camilla follows her heart.

Life with the close-knit Mormon community and her husband is blissful at first. They have two daughters, then their infant son dies a few hours after birth. In her grief, Camilla questions some Mormon teachings. While Nathan is away from home serving to build the temple in Salt Lake City, she rediscovers the faith of her childhood and determines to teach her daughters the Bible.

Camilla believes it may be possible to surrender her heart to Jesus and also be in submission to her husband. Until Nathan introduces a woman that he intends to make his wife. As Camilla becomes increasingly ostracized in the community and even her own home, she grows closer to the Lord.

For Time and Eternity ended with such a cliffhanger, I immediately purchased the sequel, Forsaking All Others on my Kindle. I read it within 48 hours in three big bites, which is highly unusual for me.

This book begins with Camilla being rescued by the U.S. Army, which is in Utah fighting the Mormon War. She makes an effort to reconcile with her extended Mormon family, as well as her husband and children. This indecision was realistic and underscored the pain of choosing between the truth of the gospel and the love of the most important people in a person’s life. Shunned by her parents and now her church and own husband, Camilla is truly alone. With assistance from an Army Corporal, Camilla returns to Iowa to see her dying father. As her faith and strength are restored, she must make life-changing decisions for her and her children. And she must call upon the strength to follow through.

Several reasons why this series grabbed hold of me: The characters were real and gripping. As narrator, Camilla occasionally stepped out of the story, which usually grates on my nerves, but under Pittman’s hand, it made her feel more real, like I was sitting at her bedside as she retold her life story.

This series also tackled Mormonism head on and the deception that its followers live under. While giving credit to their rich history and attributes of community and hard work, it did not flinch from the errors in theology. Pittman, in an interview in the back of the book, describes that she grew up in Utah and her husband is an ex-Mormon, so she is familiar with the culture. I am impressed with her and with Tyndale for holding forth the truth in their publishing.

Most of all, the story showed that following Christ can be costly. Too often, Christian fiction creates the perception that if a person simply trusts God, everything works out. And you fall madly in love. I agonized with Camilla as she faced unthinkable choices. And thrilled with her as she found that she could live without anything – except Jesus.

Although this series was two books, each one was relatively short and it felt more like one book in two volumes. Forsaking All Others also ended with a cliffhanger, causing me to wonder if a third book was planned. Pittman stated there will not be another book at the publisher’s decision. She also said the first book will always be her most important novel. Thank you, Allison, for writing it.

]]> http://susanmires.com/2012/05/05/book-review-for-time-and-eternity-forsaking-all-others/feed 0 http://susanmires.com/2012/04/25/chuckwagon-meal http://susanmires.com/2012/04/25/chuckwagon-meal#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:24:50 +0000 Susan http://susanmires.com/?p=1057 Last year, I hosted my ladies Bible study group for our Christmas party. With a cowboy theme, I dubbed it “Home on the Range for Christmas” and served cornbread beef casserole. My friend Becky, a Texas transplant, loved this dish and mentioned it the other day, so I made it again recently.

Cornbread Beef Casserole

1 pound ground beef
Chopped onion
1 package (8.5 oz) cornbread mix
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 can creamed corn
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 c. shredded cheese, divided

Brown ground beef and onions in large skillet. (You can also add hot peppers if you’d like.) In a mixing bowl, combine cornbread mix, salt, baking soda, creamed corn, milk, oil and eggs.
Pour half of the cornbread batter in a square baking dish. Layer with half of the cheese and all of the ground beef. Top with remaining cheese. Spoon the rest of the batter on top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Note: The original recipe in Taste of Home called for baking it in a 9×13 pan. This works for a big crowd, but the casserole is thinner. Also, a great time saver is to buy a package of frozen chopped onions and peppers, sometimes called seasoning blend. It’s much cheaper and easier than trying to keep fresh peppers on hand.

I like to serve it with Calico Baked Beans.

Calico Baked Beans

1 onion
2 strips of bacon
1 garlic clove (optional)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. dried mustard
1 can lima beans
1 can pork&beans
1 can kidney beans

Saute onions, bacon and garlic in skillet. Add brown sugar, vinegar and mustard. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Mix with beans and heat in the oven at 350 for one hour, or in a slow cooker.

Sara with her certificate and award.

Kathy Gronau placed second in children’s fiction with “Little Star Goes to Bethlehem” and third in poetry with her work “His Ties.”

Sending your work out for others to read – and judge! – is a big step for a writer. Here are the other winners from the Called To Writer Conference:

Devotional: 1st Joyce Love; 2nd Merrie Hansen; 3rd Carol Round.

Adult Fiction: 1st Sara Meisinger; 2nd Donna Choate; 3rd Sandy Jordan.

Children’s Non-Fiction: 1st Carol Russell; 2nd LeAnn Campbell; 3rd Neoma Foreman.

Adult Non-Fiction: 1st LeAnn Campbell; 2nd Neoma Foreman; 3rd Sally Jadlow.

Children’s Fiction: 1st Karen Cover; 2nd Kathy Gronau; 3rd Wanda Huggins.

Poetry: 1st Heather Smith; 2nd Elece Hollis; 3rd Kathy Gronau.

Congratulations!

It didn’t turn out quite as impressive as this one that inspired me, it was still worthwhile. After seeing the example on the Internet, I decided it would be a good project for my toddler Sunday school class. But early on, I realized it was more for me than for the toddlers.

Start with the large base of a flower pot and a small terra cotta pot laid on its side to create the tomb. I used a chunk of Styrofoam to add to the back of the “hill.” It was all covered with potting soil, then grass seed sewn on top.

Grass seed requires a lot of moisture to germinate and keeping this garden properly watered was a challenge. The soil was only a half inch deep on top of the top of the hill. Some lessons from soil conservation class came to mind as I tried to pour water on the loose soil. Spraying water out of a squirt bottle worked best to wet the soil without washing it away. I kept the garden on the back porch and gave it a good dousing every time I walked by.

It was pretty exciting to watch the soil each day and suddenly see tender green shoots. A simple reminder of the miracle of new life. A few twigs were snipped to create the crosses. I glued the pieces together, then wrapped them with twine.

The toddlers created their own gardens by planting grass in cups they decorated, then putting crosses in them. The concept of life and death can be difficult to explain to toddlers, but we emphasized that Easter is a happy day because Jesus is alive.

A Sunday school project

My sister-in-law said she made similar projects with older students using a Styrofoam meat/produce tray and half an Easter egg for the tomb. I took my little garden out to the front porch to take a picture, then decided to leave it there so perhaps those passing by will see the message of Easter – He has risen just as He said!

~Susan Mires

All through the cold, gray winter we held out hope that spring would arrive. It was impossible to see that beneath the soil, these grape hyacinths and red tulips were just waiting for the right moment to present themselves.

Blossoms are delicate, here for just a few days when the temperatures are perfect. Hope, too, is a fragile thing that we must protect.

The role of a blossom is to produce fruit. But even though this pink tree over my back fence will not yield fruit, it is still lovely. Even when dreams are not fulfilled, there is still beauty in having dreamed.

These blooms will soon fade, but we can rest in God’s faithfulness that He keeps his promises. We see it come to life every spring.

If He can paint this on the side of a Missouri highway on any old March day, I can’t help but be excited to think of what He has in store in this life and in our heavenly home.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” I Corinthians 2:9

Susan Mires

I decided to try an experiment composting late last summer with some watermelon rinds because they are so heavy and so messy to carry out with the garbage. Having heard elaborate stories about how to turn compost and use a “recipe,” I figured it was too complicated to figure out. But a friend said just to dig a hole in the ground and start piling it up. The microbes in the soil would do the hard work.

So all winter, I’ve been piling on the compost. One immediate benefit is the trash doesn’t smell as much and I don’t have to take it out as often. I keep a bucket on the back porch for compost material. As a country girl, this comes naturally because we always kept a garbage bucket and fed it to the hogs.

I’m curious to see what will happen to the compost pile this spring and how I can use it  to raise strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. I should probably read up on the internet all the right and wrong ways to go about composting, but sometimes it’s just more fun to jump in. And I figure it’s already garbage, it’s not like I can mess it up.

I’m also learning some spiritual lessons through this experiment. Even though it may technically be a pile a garbage, I’m already seeing beautiful things coming out of it. Next time I feel like a load of … um, trash … has been dumped on me, I’ll give it some time to see if it can be used to cultivate something that gives life.

2. I’m looking forward to getting to heaven and being able to sing in a beautiful voice, play an instrument and clap in rhythm. Until then, I’ll just sing really loud in the car and appreicate those who graciously share their musical talent.

3. In college, I majored in agriculture because I really enjoyed the classes, professors, classmates and being an aggie. I minored in journalism knowing it would be my career. I didn’t like journalism classes all that much, although the practicum experience working on the campus newspaper was well worth it.

Clearing tornado debris in Joplin, Mo., on a mission trip last summer.

4. The most exciting adventures of my life have been mission trips – Mexico, Panama, tornado-ravaged Joplin, innercity Cincinnati, Enemy Swim Indian Reservation. I would love someday to take a mission trip to a nation closed to the gospel even though I am a huge fraidy cat.

5. There was a time in my life when I didn’t have a landline telephone, cable television or internet. I’m not Amish, just cheap. I have since upgraded to having internet. This explains why I’m so avid about updating my Facebook status (join me, please, at Susan Mires Writer) and why I read lots of books and listen to the radio.

6. I am the youngest of eight children and grew up on a farm in Northwest Missouri.

7. My greatest dream in life is to be a wife and mother. I am discovering that sometimes, God reveals himself in answered prayer. Other times, He answers our heart’s cry with His presence and that is where we find His love is deeper than we ever imagined.